International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science Volume 3, Issue 4, July-August, 2015

ISSN 2091-2730

DESIGN ASPECTS OF CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT FOR RURAL

ROADS IN INDIA
Narender Singh*
*

Sub-Divisional Engineer, PWD (B&R) Branch Sirsa, Haryana (India)

email: narender_nitk@yahoo.co.in

Abstract A large proportion of Indias villages has been connected with all weather roads and has low volume of traffic. The main
composition of such roads is granular layer with or without thin bituminous surfacing. The common problem to rural roads is that their
maintenance is neglected because of paucity of funds and poor institutional set up, and the road asset created at a great cost is lost.
Cement concrete pavement offer an alternate to the flexible pavements especially when the soil strength is poor, the aggregates are
costly and drainage conditions are bad. Concrete pavements have now been constructed for low volume of traffic because of their
durability even under poor drainage conditions.

Rural roads connecting major roads are sometimes required to carry diverted traffic which may damage the concrete pavement slabs.
Such factors may be considered while arriving at thickness of concrete pavements. It is well established that the concrete pavements
demand a high degree of professional expertise at the design stage as the defective design may lead to concrete failure even if the
construction is done with great care. Indian Roads Congress has issued the first revision of IRC: SP: 62 in 2014 for design and
construction of concrete pavement for low volume of roads. In this paper, efforts have been made to elaborate the different design
aspects of concrete pavement for rural roads which will be helpful for the young engineers and research scholars.

Keywords Concrete pavement; design; commercial vehicles; C.B.R.; load stresses; temperature stresses; fatigue fracture; joints.

INTRODUCTION

India is an agriculture based country and more than 70 percent of the population is residing in the rural areas. The rural traffic
consisting mostly agricultural tractors/trailers, goods vehicles, buses, animal driven vehicles, auto-rickshaws, motor cycles, bi-cycles,
light or medium trucks carrying sugarcane, quarry material etc. The road passing through a village/built-up area usually found
damaged due to poor drainage of water. Therefore, flexible pavement in the built-up area is to be substituted with the concrete
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International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science Volume 3, Issue 4, July-August, 2015
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pavement to make it durable and to avoid wastage of nation money on repeated treatments. The different aspects of design of concrete
pavement should be taken care prior to construction for making the same durable and cost effective [1, 2].

DESIGN ASPECTS OF CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT

The guidelines contained in IRC: SP: 62-2014 are applicable for low volume roads with average daily traffic less than 450
Commercial Vehicles per Day (CVPD). The code mainly deals with three design aspects of cement concrete pavement as shown in
fig. 1 [3].
DESIGN ASPECTS OF
CEMENT CONCRETE
PAVEMENT
FACTORS
GOVERNING DESIGN

DESIGN OF SLAB
THICKNESS

CONCRETE
PAVEMENT JOINTS

Figure 1 Design Aspects of Cement Concrete Pavement

FACTORS GOVERNING DESIGN OF CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT

The factors governing design of cement concrete pavement have been discussed below:
i)

Wheel Load
Heavy vehicles are not expected on rural roads. The maximum legal load limit on single axle with dual wheels in India being 100

KN, the recommended design load on dual wheels is 50 KN having a spacing of the wheels as 310 mm centre to centre.
ii) Tyre Pressure
For a truck carrying a dual wheel load of 50 KN the tyre pressure may be taken as 0.80 MPa and for a wheel of tractor trailer, the
tyre pressure may be taken as 0.50 MPa.
iii) Design Period
The design period is generally taken 20 years for cement concrete pavement.
iv) Design Traffic for Thickness Evaluation
The design traffic for estimation of concrete pavement thickness has been given in table 1.
Table 1 Design Traffic for Estimation of Concrete Pavement Thickness
Sr. No.

Traffic (CVPD)

Stresses Considered for Thickness Estimation

1.

Up to 50

Only wheel load stresses for a load of 50 KN on dual wheel need to be

considered

2.

50 to 150

Total stresses results from wheel load of 50 KN & temperature

differential need to be considered

3.
550

>150 and up to 450

Fatigue can be the real problem and thickness could be evaluated on the
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International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science Volume 3, Issue 4, July-August, 2015
ISSN 2091-2730

basis of fatigue fracture

For the fatigue analysis of a concrete pavement the cumulative number of commercial traffic at the end of design period can
be estimated from the following equation:
(

(eq. 1)
(

Where, A = Initial CVPD after the completion of the road =

r = Rate of traffic increase in decimal (for 5% rate of increase in traffic, r = 0.05)

PI = Initial/ Present CVPD as per traffic census
x = Construction period
n = Design period in years (recommended as 20 years)
N = Total number of cumulative commercial vehicles at the end of the design period
v) Characteristics of the Sub-grade
The strength of sub-grade is expressed in terms of modulus of sub-grade reaction (k). Since, the sub-grade strength is affected by
the moisture content, it is desirable to determine it soon after the monsoons. The approximate k value corresponding to
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value is given in table 2.
Table 2 Value of Modulus of Sub-grade Reaction (k)
Soaked Sub-grade CBR (%)a

10

15

20

50

K value (MPa/m)

21

28

35

42

48

50

62

69

140

The minimum CBR of the soil sub-grade shall be 4 %

vi) Sub-base
A good quality compacted foundation layer provided below a concrete pavement is commonly termed as sub-base. It provides
the concrete pavement a uniform & firm support and acts as a leveling course below the pavement. Sub-base can be provided
below the concrete pavement in three ways depending upon volume of traffic as shown in table 3.
Table 3 Different Ways of Providing Sub-base
Traffic up to 50 CVPD
75

mm

thick WBM

(G-III)

/WMM over 100 mm thick GSB

Traffic from 50 to 150 CVPD

Traffic from 150 to 450 CVPD

75 mm thick WBM (G-III)

150

/WMM over 100 mm thick GSB

/WMM over 100 mm thick GSB

or

mm

or

150 mm thick cement/ lime/ lime-

100

mm

fly ash treated with marginal

granular

aggregates/ soil layer

concrete)

WBM

(G-III)

or

thick
layer

thick

cementitious
(

Dry

lean

100

mm

thick

cementitious

granular layer ( Dry lean concrete)

over 100mm cementitious layer
with naturally occurring material

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The effective modulus of sub-grade reaction (k) over granular and cement treated sub-base is shown in table 4. The effective
k value for the Granular Sub-Base (GSB) may be taken 1.2 times the k value of the sub-grade. Similarly, for cementitious sub-base,
the effective k value may be taken 2 times the k value of soil sub-grade.
Table 4 Effective k value over Granular and Cementitious Sub-bases
Soaked Sub-grade CBR (%)

10

15

20

50

K value over GSB (150 to 250 mm), MPa/m

25

34

42

50

58

60

74

83

170

K value over Cementitious sub-base (150 to 200 mm), MPa/m

42

56

70

84

96

100

124

138

280

Reduction in stresses in the concrete pavement slab due to higher sub-grade CBR is marginal, since only fourth root of k
matters in stress computation, but the loss of support due to erosion of the poor quality foundation below the pavement slab under wet
condition may damage it seriously.
vii) Concrete Strength
Since, concrete pavement fails due to bending stresses, it is necessary that their design is based on the flexural strength of
concrete (eq. 2).
(eq. 2)
Where, ff = Flexural strength, MPa
fck = Characteristics compressive cube strength, MPa
For low low volume roads, it is suggested that the 90 days strength may be used for design since concrete keeps on gaining
strength with time. The 90 days flexural strength may be taken as 1.10 times the 28 days flexural strength. For concrete pavement
construction for rural roads, it is recommended that the characteristic 28 days compressive strength should be at least 30 MPa and
corresponding flexural strength shall not be less than 3.8 MPa.
viii) Modulus of Elasticity (E) and Poissons Ratio ()
The Modulus of Elasticity of concrete and Poissons ratio may be taken as 30,000 MPa and 0.15 respectively.
ix) Co-efficient of Thermal expansion ()
The co-efficient of thermal expansion of concrete may be taken as 10x10 -6 per oC.
x) Fatigue behavior of Concrete Pavement
Fatigue means weakening or breakdown of concrete material subject to repeated series of stresses. For rural roads with traffic
exceeding 150 CVPD, fatigue behavior of pavement slab may be calculated from the fatigue equation (eq. 3).
(eq. 3)
Where, Nf = Fatigue life of concrete pavement = Allowable load repetitions
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Stress Ratio (SR) =

The ratio of expected load repetitions (Ne) and allowable load repetitions (Nf) is termed as cumulative fatigue damage and its
value should be less than 1.
Cumulative fatigue damage =

(eq. 4)

Assuming that only 10% of the total traffic has axle loads equal to 100 KN, the number of repetitions of 100 KN axle loads
expected in 20 years can be calculated from eq. 1.
Ne = Expected load repetitions = 10% of N = 0.1 x N

(eq. 5)

DESIGN OF SLAB THICKNESS

1) Critical Stress Condition
Two different regions in a concrete pavement slab i.e. edge and corner are considered critical for pavement design. Effect of
temperature gradient is very less at the corner, while it is much higher at the edge. Concrete pavement undergo a daily cyclic change
of temperature differentials, the top being hotter than the bottom during the day and opposite is the case during the night. The
consequent tendency of pavement slab to curl upwards (top convex) during the day and downwards (top concave) during the night,
and restraint offered to the curling by self weight of the pavement induces stresses in the pavement, referred to commonly as curling
stresses. These stresses are flexural in nature, being tensile, at bottom during the day (fig. 2a) and at top during the night (fig. 2b).

Figure 2 (a) Tensile Stresses at the bottom during day

(b) Tensile Stresses at the top during night

As the restraint offered to curling would be a function of weight of the slab, it is obvious that corners have little of such restraint.
Consequently the temperature stresses induced in the pavement are negligible in the corner region. The maximum tensile stresses in
the edge region of slab will be caused by simultaneous occurrence of wheel loads and temperature differentials. This would occur
during the day at the bottom in case of interior and edge regions [4, 5].
2) Calculation of Stresses
i)

Load stresses at edge

Westergaards equation for edge loading is recommended for computation of edge stresses caused by single or dual wheel at the

edge of concrete pavement slab (eq. 6) [6, 7].

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*

( )

( )

(eq. 6)

Where, e = Load stress in the edge region, MPa

h = Pavement slab thickness, mm
E = Modulus of elasticity for concrete, MPa
= Radius of relative stiffness, mm =

= Poissons ratio for concrete

k = Modulus of sub-grade reaction of the pavement foundation, MPa/m
a = Radius of the equivalent circular area in mm =

, for single wheel at edge

, for dual wheel at edge

P = Single wheel load, N

Pd = Load on one wheel of dual wheel set, N
Sd = Spacing between the centers of dual wheel, mm
p = Tyre pressure, MPa
ii) Temperature stresses at edge
The stress for the linear temperature gradient across depth of slab can be calculated by using Bradburys equation (eq. 7) [7, 8].
(

(eq. 7)

Where, te = Temperature stresses in the edge region, MPa

= Coefficient of thermal expansion
t = Temperature difference (oC) between the top & the bottom of the slab
C = Bradburys coefficient and depends on
L = Joint spacing

The values of temperature differentials in different zones in India as recommended by Central Road Research Institute
(CRRI) are given in table 5 [9].

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Table 5 Recommended Temperature Differentials for Concrete Slabs

Zone

States

Temperature

Differentials

C in Slabs of Thickness

i)

Panjab, Harayana, U.P., Uttranchal, Manipur, Meghalaya,

150 mm

200 mm

250 mm

12.5

13.1

14.3

15.6

16.4

16.6

17.3

19.0

20.3

15.0

16.4

17.6

Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura,

Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujrat and North M.P., excluding
hilly regions
ii)

Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam and Eastern Orissa

excluding hilly regions and coastal areas

iii)

Maharashtra, Karnataka, South M.P., Chattisgarh, Andhra

Pradesh, Western Orissa and North Tamil Nadu excluding hilly
regions and coastal areas

iv)

Kerala and South Tamil Nadu excluding hilly regions and coastal
areas

v)

Coastal areas bounded by hills

14.6

15.8

16.2

vi)

Coastal areas unbounded by hills

15.5

17.0

19.0

10

The values of Co-efficient C can be calculated from table 6.

Table 6 Recommended Values of Co-efficient C
1

11

12

&

above
C

0.000

0.040

0.175

0.440

0.720

0.920

1.030

1.077

1.080

1.075

1.050

1.000

CONCRETE PAVEMENT JOINTS

Low volume roads have generally a single-lane carriageway with a lane width of 3.75 m which is concreted in one operation. For rural
roads, no longitudinal joint need to be provided except when the pavement width exceeds 4.5 m [10]. There are mainly four types of
joints provided in cement concrete pavement as discussed under:
i)

Contraction Joints
These are transverse joints whose spacing may be kept 2.5 to 4 m. These can be formed by sawing the pavement slabs within
24 hrs of casting of concrete (fig. 3).

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Figure 3 Contraction Joint

The dowel bars are not satisfactory for slabs of small thickness and shall not be provided for slabs of thickness less than 200
mm. However, for slab thickness 200 mm and above, the dowel bars must be provided at contraction joints. The
recommended diameters and length of dowel bars with respect to slab thickness has been given in table 7 [11].
Table 7 Recommended Diameters and Length of Dowel Bars

ii)

Slab Thickness
(mm)
200
230
250
280
300
350
Construction Joints

Diameter (mm)
25
30
32
36
38
38

Dowel Bars
Length (mm)
360
400
450
450
500
500

Spacing (mm)
300
300
300
300
300
300

Transverse construction joints shall be provided wherever concreting is completed after a days work or is suspended for
more than 90 minutes.
iii)

Longitudinal Joints
Where the width of concrete slab exceeds 4.5 m, it is necessary to provide a longitudinal joint in mid width of slab as per
detail shown in fig. 4. The detail of tie bars provided in the longitudinal joints of concrete pavement is given in table 8 [11].

Figure 4 Longitudinal Joint

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Table 8 Detail of Tie Bars for Longitudinal Joints

Slab Thickness

Diameter

(mm)

(mm)

Plain Bars

Deformed Bars

Plain Bars

Deformed Bars

150

330

530

440

480

10

520

830

510

560

10

390

620

510

560

12

560

900

580

640

250

12

450

720

580

640

300

12

370

600

580

640

16

660

1060

720

800

12

320

510

580

640

16

570

910

720

800

200

350

iv)

Maximum Spacing (mm)

Minimum Length (mm)

Expansion Joints
There are full depth joints provided transversely into which pavement can expand, thus relieving compressive stresses due to
expansion of concrete slabs, and preventing any tendency towards distortion, buckling, blow up and spalling. The current
practice is to provide expansion joints only when concrete slab abuts with bridge or culvert (fig. 5) [12].

Figure 5 Expansion Joint

CASE STUDY
The cement concrete pavement with 5.5 m carriageway has been designed for road from Nathusari Kalan to Rupana Bishnoian in
Sirsa (Haryana) in year 2014 [13]. The detailed design has been discussed as under:
PI = 169 CVPD
r = 5% rate of increase in traffic = 0.05
x = 1 year
n = 20 years
Using eq. 1
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A = 169 (

) = 177

Since, the present CVPD are greater than 150 CVPD, fatigue can be a real problem and the thickness could be evaluated on the basis
of fatigue fracture.
Design Data
Grade of concrete = M-30
CBR = 5%
Pd = 50 KN = 50x103 N
p = 0.80 MPa
Sd = 310 mm
= 0.15
E = 30,000 MPa
= 10x10-6 per oC
k = 50 MPa/m or 50x10-3 MPa/mm, for granular sub-base (as per table 4)
Sub-base
150 mm WMM over 100 mm GSB (as per table 3)
Concrete Strength
28 day compressive strength for M-30 grade of concrete = 30 MPa
Using eq. 2

28 day flexural strength =

= 3.834 MPa

90 day flexural strength =ff = 1.10x3.834 = 4.22 MPa

Trial-I
Assuming,
Pavement thickness (h) = 170 mm
Joint spacing (L) = 2.75 m = 2750 mm
=

, for granular sub-base

a=

Using eq. 6
Using eq. 7

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[C = 0.409, for

Total stress = e + te = 3.00 + 0.767 = 3.767 MPa < 4.22 MPa

Therefore, safe.

Using eq. 3

[SR =

Nf = 287.08
Using eq. 5

Ne = 10% of N = 213623

Using eq. 4 Cumulative fatigue damage =

Therefore, unsafe

Trial-II
Assuming, h = 200 mm and L = 2750 mm
=

[C = 0.291, for

Total stress = 2.358 + 0.572 = 2.93 MPa < 4.22 MPa

Therefore, safe.
[SR =

Nf = 20195
Cumulative fatigue damage =

Therefore, unsafe

Trial-III
Assuming, h = 215 mm and L = 2750 mm
=

[C = 0.243, for

Total stress = 2.114 + 0.52 = 2.634 MPa < 4.22 MPa

Therefore, safe.
[SR =

Nf = 283792
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Cumulative fatigue damage =

Therefore, safe

It is therefore, recommended to provide 215 mm thick cement concrete pavement (M-30) over 100 mm GSB and 150 mm
WBM/WMM. Since, the thickness of concrete pavement is greater than 200 mm it is desirable to provide 25 mm dia dowel bars, 360
mm long @ 300 mm c/c at contraction joints.

CONCLUSION
The concrete pavement for rural roads perform well under poor drainage conditions and thus avoid wastage of resources on repeated
treatment of flexible pavement. The proper design of concrete pavement will definitely help to make it durable and cost effective. The
technical institutions should enforce the design aspects of concrete pavement for the optimum benefit of young engineers and research
scholars.

REFERENCES:
[1] IRC: SP: 20-2002, Rural Road Manual.
[2] IRC: SP: 42-1994, Guidelines of Road Drainage.
[3] IRC: SP: 62-2014, Guidelines for Design and Construction of Cement Concrete Pavement for Low Volume Roads (First
Revision).
[4] Dr. R. Kumar, Scientist, Rigid Pavements Division, CRRI, Design and Construction of Rigid Pavements/Cement Concrete
Roads (ppt).
[5] Pandey, B.B., Warping Stresses in Concrete Pavements- A Re-Examination, HRB No. 73, 2005, Indian Roads Congress, 49-58.
[6] Westergaard, H. M. (1948), New Formulas for Stresses in Concrete Pavements of Airfield, ASCE Transactions, vol. 113, 425444.
[7] Srinivas, T., Suresh, K. and Pandey, B.B., Wheel Load and Temperature Stresses in Concrete Pavement, Highway Research
Bulletin No. 77, 2007, 11-24.
[8] Bradbury, R. D. (1938), Reinforced Concrete Pavements, Wire Reinforcement Inst., Washington, D.C.
[9] B. Kumar, Scientist, Rigid Pavements Division, CRRI, Design Construction & Quality Control Aspects in Concrete Road (ppt).
[10] IRC: 15-2011, Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Construction of Concrete Roads (Fourth Revision).
[11] IRC: 58-2011, Guidelines for Design of Plain Jointed Rigid Pavement for Highways (Third Revision).
[12] IRC: 57-2006, Recommended Practice for Sealing of Joints in Concrete Pavements (First Revision).
[13] Detailed Project Report, Upgradation of Road from Nathusari Kalan to Rupana Bishnoian in Sirsa, Haryana PWD (B&R),
2014.

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